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CiscoWorks LAN Management Solution (LMS) is an integrated suite of management tools that simplify the configuration, administration, monitoring, and troubleshooting of Cisco
® networks. Built upon popular Internet-based standards, CiscoWorks LMS applications help enable network operators to manage the network through a browser-based interface that can be accessed anytime from anywhere within the network. CiscoWorks LMS maintains a centralized list of all Cisco network devices and their credentials that serves as a single repository for all CiscoWorks applications whether they are installed locally or distributed in a multiserver deployment. CiscoWorks LMS Portal provides functional views that can be tailored to meet the needs of an individual or group of network operations staff, simplifying integration and navigation between Cisco and other third-party application functionality. See Figure 1.

Figure 1. CiscoWorks LMS Portal

A new workflow engine, CiscoWorks Assistant, provides a set of intuitive procedures for CiscoWorks server setup and troubleshooting network-related problems. See Figure 2.

CiscoWorks LMS applications are delivered on a single DVD, one for the Windows operating system and another for the Solaris operating system, and installation is performed by a single, quick-and-easy installer. The CiscoWorks LMS application versions are as follows:

• CiscoWorks Device Fault Manager (DFM) 3.1

• CiscoWorks Campus Manager 5.1

• CiscoWorks Resource Manager Essentials (RME) 4.2

• CiscoWorks Internetwork Performance Monitor (IPM) 4.1

• CiscoWorks CiscoView 6.1.8

• CiscoWorks Common Services 3.2

• CiscoWorks LMS Portal 1.1

• CiscoWorks Assistant 1.1

CiscoWorks LMS is part of the CiscoWorks family of products that provide comprehensive network management solutions to improve IT organizational effectiveness through task automation, simplification, and integration. CiscoWorks LMS is a component of the Cisco Proactive Automation of Change Execution (PACE) solution. PACE provides an integrated suite of Cisco products and services for centralizing configuration, change, and compliance management.

Features and Benefits

CiscoWorks LMS 3.1 is a new minor software release that delivers improvements in scalability, performance, and application-level functionality. It provides a centralized system for sharing device information across all applications, improving manageability, and allowing the management system to adjust to changes more dynamically. Delivered on a single DVD, the CiscoWorks LMS installation process is new and improved, providing faster uptime and capability that allows the user to install in unattended mode. A new portal interface helps facilitate rapid navigation between tools and can be modified to meet a specific individual's needs. The network desktop comes with three default views that can be modified by the systems administrator, as well as customized views:

• Functional view: Similar to the currently shipping product, this view provides a list of applications and their corresponding functions.

• System view: Provides a system-level view into the status of various system-level attributes, including job status, backup information, system-level events, and application-related details.

• Customized views: The user also has the option of defining and saving personalized views.

CiscoWorks LMS 3.1 utilizes security information maintained in Cisco Secure Access Control Server (ACS) to simplify the management of user privileges. Cisco Secure ACS integration provides flexibility in defining user roles and supports secured user views of specific devices or groups of devices or by geographic or logical network segments. Significant improvement in performance, such as multithreading background tasks, has reduced the time needed to deliver updates to the network, as well as generate reports. Efficient task processing and its shared database of managed devices allow CiscoWorks LMS to be deployed into larger networks.

CiscoWorks LMS consists of operationally focused tools capable of fault management, scalable topology views, sophisticated configuration, WAN performance troubleshooting, end-station tracking, and device troubleshooting. CiscoWorks LMS is built on the CiscoWorks Common Services management infrastructure and foundation. This design facilitates operations workflow between applications by linking data collection, monitoring, and analysis tools-all from a single desktop application. Additionally, switch or router configurations can then be quickly examined to detect anomalies or the need for changes. Those actions may draw information from one or more applications.

CiscoWorks LMS uses Internet standards to tie together best-in-class tools and to take advantage of their capabilities through data- and task-integration standards. Using the Common Information Model (CIM) and Extensible Markup Language (XML), which are industry standards for data sharing, allows CiscoWorks LMS a means of extracting data and using it with popular network management products.

Table 1 lists the CiscoWorks LMS 3.1 applications, and Table 2 lists the features and benefits of CiscoWorks LMS 3.1.

Table 1. CiscoWorks LAN Management Solution 3.1 Applications

Applications

Description

CiscoWorks Device Fault Manager

Real-time fault detection, analysis, and reporting using device knowledge and fault rules based on Cisco best practices for each device.

Provides the infrastructure for a common management desktop experience and the services for securing access to all CiscoWorks applications. Includes a common device and credentials repository for all applications as it populates the repository after running discovery over the managed network. Facilities include a foundation for integrating with other Cisco and third-party applications.

The automated fault detection recognizes common problems in networks without forcing users to define their own rules sets, SNMP trap filters, or device-polling intervals.

Interprets fault conditions at both the device and VLAN levels

CiscoWorks Device Fault Manager

With the characteristics of more than a 100 Cisco routers and switches predefined, new device support is easily added through Cisco.com. CiscoWorks Device Fault Manager simplifies managing both Layer 2 and Layer 3 environments.

CiscoWorks IPM simplifies the identification of devices contributing to latency and network delays and allows WAN managers to manage the effectiveness of voice-over-IP (VoIP) and quality of service (QoS) features implemented in their networks.

Network portal for flexible user display

CiscoWorks LMS

Portal technology allows the user to customize views into the network management application functionality or chose from one of the three default views provided.

Workflows for improved setup and troubleshooting

CiscoWorks Assistant

CiscoWorks Assistant provides workflows for simplifying setup of CiscoWorks and for faster troubleshooting of device-related issues.

The CiscoWorks server simplifies the web integration of third-party and other Cisco management tools.

Operating System Requirements

LMS 3.1 runs on with the following operating systems:

• Solaris

– Solaris 9

– Solaris 10

LMS 3.1 is installed on the global zone of Solaris 10 operating system by default. Installation of LMS 3.1 is also supported on the whole-root nonglobal zone. For details, see
Support for Zone-based Virtualization in Solaris 10. LMS 3.1 also supports logical domains (LDoms) and ZFS file system. See
Solaris Patches for more information on Solaris patches to be installed on these operating systems.

• Windows

– Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition

– Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition

– Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard Edition

– Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition

– Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition with Service Pack 1 and 2

– Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition with Service Pack 1 and 2

– Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard Edition with Service Pack 1 and 2

– Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition with Service Pack 1 and 2

Both 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems are supported on the above versions.

• Virtualization Systems*

– VMware ESX server 3.0.1

– VMware ESX Server 3.5.0

– VMware ESXi 3.5 Update 2

* VMWare support is not available for CWLMS-3.0-10K-K9 (10,000 device) SKU.

Tables 3 and 4 provide the system requirements for the server and client, respectively.

Table 3. CiscoWorks LMS 3.1 System Requirements: Server

Part Number (SKU)

Solaris (Memory and Hardware Recommendations )

Microsoft Windows (Memory and Hardware Recommendations)

CWLMS-3.1-100-K9

Not supported

1 CPU with 2 GB RAM and 4 GB swap space

CWLMS-3.1-300-K9

• 1 CPU, 2 GB RAM and 4 GB swap space on Solaris 9

• 1 CPU, 4 GB RAM and 8 GB swap space on Solaris 10

1 CPU with 2 GB RAM and 4 GB swap space

CWLMS-3.1-1.5K-K9

2 CPU, 4 GB RAM and 8 GB swap space

2 CPUs at 3.66 GHz and 4 GB RAM and 8 GB swap space

CWLMS-3.1-5K-K9

Single server for all products in CiscoWorks LMS Suite when the device count is under 5000: 4 CPU, 8 GB RAM and 16 GB swap space

Single server for all products in CiscoWorks LMS suite when the device count is below 5000: 4 CPUs with 8 GB RAM and 16 GB swap space

Using the Cisco Lifecycle Services approach, Cisco and its partners provide a broad portfolio of end-to-end services and support that can help increase your network's business value and return on investment. This approach defines the minimum set of activities needed, by technology and by network complexity, to help you successfully deploy and operate Cisco technologies and optimize their performance throughout the lifecycle of your network.

For More Information

For more information about CiscoWorks LAN Management Solution, visit
http://www.cisco.com/go/lms, contact your local Cisco account representative, or send an email to the product marketing group at
lms-pm@cisco.com.